Provocation
1717 Words
Iris’ POV:
“Is your brother blind, Marcus?”
I couldn't get my mind off and for a moment no one said anything while I stood there, resisting the urge to shift on my feet.
I hated the fact that it felt like I was on display and Marcus didn't make it seem any better.
He leaned back lazily on the sofa, one arm stretched across the backrest as if he owned the entire room as his gaze traveled over me painfully slowly, starting from my hair and sliding down my facial features until it settled on my boobs that the corset helped to exaggerate.
When he finally looked up again, we made eye contact and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips instead of embarrassment.
“Well,” he said after a moment, his voice smooth and amused, “Blind would be a bit extreme, Mother.”
His eyes moved over me again, this time with even less shame.
It was clear that he didn't care if he got caught because I wasn't going to talk… I couldn't talk.
“But I can see why he married her,” he added, his words making my skin prickle.
“That dress is doing interesting things,” he added casually.
Heat rushed to my face so fast it felt like I’d stepped into fire, and it wasn't because I liked it.
My mother-in-law, however, looked thoroughly unimpressed and said, sharply, “Marcus.”
“What?” he replied with a shrug. “I’m just saying. If Alaric suddenly decided to get married overnight, there must have been a reason.”
His gaze lingered on my waist again before sliding lower.
“And I’m starting to see a few possibilities.”
My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress as I took a gulp of saliva, my eyes momentarily flickering to my mother-in-law who didn't do anything to stop her son but glare.
I had dealt with difficult doctors and even rude patients, but the way Marcus was looking at me made something cold crawl down my spine in a way that I'd never felt before.
I suddenly felt exposed.
“Sit,” my mother-in-law ordered.
I obeyed immediately, lowering myself onto the edge of the sofa across from them. The corset dug painfully into my ribs as I tried to maintain a straight posture.
Her sharp eyes locked onto me and I pulled on one of the bows that decorated my dress.
“So,” she began slowly, folding her hands neatly in her lap, probably thinking of a new way to torture me “What exactly is your background, Iris?”
The way she said my name sounded less like curiosity and more like an accusation. It felt as if I had been exposed and she just wanted me to know it.
“I… grew up in the city,” I answered carefully.
“Parents?”
“J—just my mother,” I said, my brows twitching when the lie came easily.
“And what do you do?”
My throat tightened and the way she raised her brow made me know that she knew. I had successfully fallen into her trap.
“I’m a nurse.”
The scoff that followed my answer was instant.
“A nurse?” she repeated, her voice laced with clear disbelief.
Marcus chuckled quietly under his breath and my mother-in-law’s gaze sharpened.
“So my son married hospital staff.”
The words were spoken with such disdain that they cut deeper than if she had shouted them.
“Well, at least we know she can follow instructions,” Marcus chipped in while playing with his lips.
My stomach dropped and I wanted to do nothing more than to gorge out his lustful eyes.
“What does that mean?” I asked before I could stop myself.
His grin widened, and he simply shook his head like the coward he was. His reaction made me want to attack him, then I remembered Natalia’s warning clearly.
No matter what she says, don’t act like you know better….
So I stayed quiet even though my plan was to go for Marcus instead. The warning didn't apply to him, right?
My mother-in-law tapped her finger against the armrest thoughtfully before she asked, “And how exactly did you meet my son?”
The question made my chest tighten as my brain quickly went through the details I had read last night.
“I… we met at a café.”
I was sure that if I were Pinocchio, my nose would have reached the other side of this big sitting room by now.
Her eyebrow lifted slowly, clearly not buying my story, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“How romantic,” Marcus dropped his unsolicited commentary once more, and I ignored him.
“Tell me something, Iris,” my mother-in-law said calmly. “Did my son choose you out of pity… or desperation?”
The words hit like a slap and I sat there, stunned by how brutal she was.
Marcus, on the other hand, burst into a loud laughter as if the best clown in the world had cracked a joke.
“Mother-”
“No, I’m curious,” she continued coolly, cutting off Marcus, who looked entertained.
“Because from where I’m sitting, this entire situation is rather puzzling.”
My hands curled into fists in my lap as I kept hearing Natalia’s warning in my head.
Don’t act like you know better.
Don’t act like you know better.
But the humiliation was starting to crawl under my skin and there was a level to what I could take.
I felt the sting of tears building behind my eyes as my chest started to ache from the pent-up anger.
And that was when something inside me snapped.
“I’m not sure,” I said quietly, and the room went still.
Both of them looked at me, suddenly quiet and certainly unamused.
I raised my head up with as much boldness as I could muster in my current state and said coldly, “But if marrying me disappoints you this much, perhaps you should ask your son why he signed the papers or better still, you shouldn't have given birth to a blind son.”
The silence that followed felt endless.
Marcus blinked.
My mother-in-law stared at me as if I had just committed an erroneous crime.
Her mouth went wide open and she shut it back, but her eyes were enough to convey her level of anger.
My heart dropped instantly.
Natalia’s warning flashed through my mind again.
Don’t act like you know better.
It was too late.
“What did you just say?” my mother-in-law asked slowly, rising to her feet while Marcus’ face suddenly went poker.
Her voice was dangerously void of any type of emotion right now.
I suddenly wished I could rewind the last ten seconds of my life, but before I could say anything-
“What's happening here?” a deep voice that I recognised so well came from behind me.
My head snapped toward the doorway that I had not even noticed was opened.
Alaric stood there.
He was still dressed in his dark suit from work, one hand resting casually in his pocket as his sharp gaze moved across the room.
My mother-in-law straightened up with a look of victory on her face.
“Perfect timing,” she said sharply, giving a smirk before she continued, “Your wife just spoke to me with unacceptable disrespect.”
Alaric’s eyes moved towards me while I sat still, waiting for him to scold me and add to my misery. Maybe even end the contract.
For a moment, his expression didn’t change.
Absolutely nothing but boredom, then he looked back at his mother.
“Did she?” he asked calmly.
“Yes,” she snapped. “And frankly, I find it astonishing that you would bring someone like this into our family.”
Marcus leaned back again, the sickening grin appearing on his face once more.
Alaric didn’t even glance at him.
Instead, he said evenly, “Then perhaps you shouldn’t provoke her.”
The room went completely silent and my mother-in-law and Alaric started a staring contest.
“I beg your pardon?” she asked in disbelief.
“You interrogated her, didn't you?” Alaric asked, clearly tired of the drama.
His mother looked away with guilt written on her face, but there was still that defiance in her expression.
With a glance at me, he said, “Come with me.”
I stood up immediately, ignoring the holes that his family were boring into my back. I was more than happy to leave this space and get out of this dress as soon as possible.
Alaric followed a moment later, closing the door behind us and leading me into the hallway felt strangely free of any staff.
I walked beside him in silence, waiting for the inevitable scolding or anger.
Instead, he simply said, “Next time my mother decides to test you, try not to lose control.”
I stopped walking and felt my lungs stop walking. Of course, a part of me had concluded that he really cared to an extent.
“That’s it?” I asked before I could stop myself, disappointment obvious in my features.
He glanced at me briefly, then asked, “You expected something else?”
I shouldn't be staring at him with disbelief since he was just being the usual d**k head that he was, but I did anyway.
“I thought you might at least acknowledge that your brother was being inappropriate.”
His expression remained perfectly calm as he said casually, “Marcus has always been inappropriate.”
His tone made my frustration spike and before I realised it, I fired another question at him with my arms crossed.
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
Alaric looked at me for a long moment before turning away again and letting out a sigh.
“Don't stress me.”
And with that, he continued walking, leaving me standing there with a growing realization twisting painfully in my chest.
I honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.
His mother’s cruelty
Or his indifference.
- Writer
